Eating disorders don't stop Chaparral student

She’s only 17 years old, but already Anna Rocco has learned that life has some tough challenges -- including the one that almost killed her a few years back.

And now that she’s on the road to recovery, Rocco is spreading the word to others her age, hoping that they won’t have to endure the personal tragedy that she and her family have faced for much of the last five years.

I’ll tell you what I told her during our first conversation a few days ago. Anna Rocco is scary -- in a remarkable kind of way. She is overcoming her problems, but also has an incredible knack for getting things done. If I was related to her, I would be humbled and proud all at the same time. Now I’m one of her biggest cheerleaders.

And here’s why:

Starting about five years ago, in her own words, Anna was caught up in a “perfect storm” of biochemical, genetic, psychological, behavioral and social factors. Despite the fact she was a good student and a potentially standout athlete, she also had reservations about how she looked. It’s a common thing -- a recent survey in South Carolina estimates that 50 percent of all girls between the ages of 11 and 13 worry about their weight.

If you’re guessing that all this led to an eating disorder, you’re right. At one point, it was so bad she stopped eating at all. She lost 34 pounds in two months and landed in a hospital. She was told that she was only a few weeks from dying. She describes her life as a succession of stress, physical ailments, panic attacks and relapse.

And, again, she’s not alone. That same survey says that 95 percent of all eating disorders in girls and boys occur between the ages of 12 and 25.

“I was bullied a lot when I was younger,” Rocco said. “I was a strong, thick girl and I wanted to get into an older, more popular group that told me I was fat. That could have triggered some of this, but my body was also going through a lot of changes.”

At separate times, she’s shown symptoms of both anorexia and bulimia. For the last nine months, she’s been in recovery and, knock on wood, she’s doing well.

But this space isn’t entirely devoted to Anna Rocco confronting her problems. While she’s doing just that, she’s also putting a hand out to all people her own age who will take the time to listen.

Rocco is a junior at Chaparral High School in Temecula, where she has talked to both small and large groups about her disorder. She and Maddie Grey, a Great Oak High School senior whom she met while undergoing treatment, have addressed students throughout the district. Last fall, they raised through a charity walk more than $9,300 to be donated to the National Eating Disorder Association.

And remember, Rocco is only 17 years old.

At 7 p.m. Saturday, she’ll be at it again, hosting a benefit concert at the Wilson Creek Winery. Featured artists will be Alaina Blair, former Miss Southern California; Hayley Orrantia, a Season 1 X-Factor contestant from the group Lakoda Rayne; and the Brewer Boys, also contestants on the X-Factor. For more information on that event, visit www.nedaconcerts.eventbrite.com and type Concert in the Vines in the search field.

“I didn’t just want to go through five or six years of hell and then go on with my life as if nothing happened,” Rocco said. “I know there’s a purpose for everything and now I want to help. I have a passion for this, and I want to get through to my peers by telling them my experience.”

Her message to those peers has been to look at beauty differently -- to look past the Adonis and the belle and the fox and the hunk and the hotty and the stud -- and to find a person’s inner virtue.

It’s hard in this advertising age, but so far the response has been overwhelming. The words “thank you” have also helped in Rocco’s own therapy.

Rocco’s ambition is to someday work as a nurse in a hospital trauma center. If she can keep her eating disorder in check, I’d be shocked if that doesn’t happen.

Considering all that’s happened, it would definitely be worth cheering about.

If you know of someone who would be interesting to feature in a column, call Jim Rothgeb at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2621, or email jim.rothgeb@californian.com.